Friendly Competition
by FreakinGodzilla
Summary: A married Jareth and Sarah compete. The one that finishes the most paperwork by morning wins. Hopefully, Sarah will beat Jareth at his own game again... Hopefully. A fluffy, short one-shot. J/S


**A very short - sort of fluffy one-shot. Just a snippet of Jareth and Sarah's life way in the future. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Sarah glanced at the clock in the corner of her study. Twenty-five minutes until thirteen o'clock. Good. She had plenty of time.

It wouldn't be too difficult, of course. She had spent the majority of her college days awake till the first rays of the sun peaked over the horizon with a mug of coffee in one hand and a textbook in the other. Her lips formed a smile at the memory of the Aboveground birds waking with the dawn. Their chirps the only sounds of life.

In the castle there were only two types of birds. Chickens and vultures… if they really even counted. Sometimes she missed seeing hummingbirds or cardinals, but Jareth would show her amazing wonders that only the Underground contained. Sights so magnificent and animals so unique and odd that it more than made up for the fact that she rarely saw her family anymore.

"Perhaps a visit is due…" Sarah smirked at the melancholy turn her thoughts had made. Then growled again at the sight of paperwork that was piled before her. She would never get anything done if her attentions kept continuously diverting like this.

Leaning forward in the plush chair, she placed her elbows on the cherry red desk before her and began to read from one of the many long letters that had been addressed to her and her husband from another kingdom. She sighed and allowed herself to get sucked into more useless rambling.

When she next glanced upon the clock it was a quarter past two in the morning, and her eyes stung. She was sure that they were bloodshot. Sarah closed them for a second, just to rest them, maybe just rest them for a little bit longer…

Her consciousness drifted about, slowly leaving her. Her body slugged forward in the chair and her face came down rapidly. She missed the desk by mere inches, snapping her eyes open and managing to catch herself before her nose became quickly acquainted with the wood before her.

"Oh, God." She said, reaching up and tangling her hands into the locks of her hair. Just a bit longer, she told herself. The stack of paperwork had quickly depleted throughout the night and she was only down to a few more letters and signatures.

Sarah's ambition renewed. She could finally do it. She would beat Jareth. A few more and she'd be done way before sunrise. This time she would be the one to win. Now she would be able to pick the prize. Although, the prizes that Jareth often picked were mutually enjoyed…

She thought of her husband that was in his own study down the hall from hers. Usually, he kept up with the paperwork. They'd learned to compromise and split responsibilities throughout the years. Jareth had been confused at first when she had come up to him complaining about being a 'lame duck'. Soon after that, he had reluctantly shared his work with her.

They'd managed to turn it into a game. Whomever completed their own equally large stack of paperwork the fastest before dawn, won the game and got to choose their own prize. Sarah grinned. It seemed as if she would win this time. Jareth was usually already knocking at her study door gloating by now.

With this thought on her mind she hastily returned to the papers before her and began tackling through them with the help of a second wind.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep… Only that she wasn't in her study anymore.

* * *

Her luscious locks brushed against her milky skin. Her dress left little exposed in the front, but she could feel the cool air of the room sweep across her back. The red that was painted on her lips glowed in the bright lights of the room. It made for an exceptional contrast of color with her pale complexion. A few dark curled strands fell out of her up-do, framing her slim face. The makeup surrounding her eyes was light, but did have black lining the very edges of her eyes. The green in them was piercing.

She heard a bell chime, and suddenly the dance floor before her was swarmed with dancers. They piled in like ants, and swept each other up into the dance as if they had relived this same moment hundreds of times. As the music began to play, Sarah was swept up as well.

It was a good thing she knew how to dance.

"How are you, m'lady?" The gentleman asked. He had soft, kind features that were much, much different than the familiar chiseled face of the goblin king. Her eyes searched the crowd for him, but her arms allowed the man before her to sway in rhythm to the sound of soft strings playing.

"Very good, and you?" She asked kindly. Pulling on her years of acting. Sarah didn't want to hurt his feelings, so she'd humor him for just a moment… Just until she found the man she was looking for.

"The same," he smirked, and Sarah found herself seeing the difference in this man's smile and a certain King's. There was no hidden mockery here, no mischievousness or arrogance.

"Do you attend balls often? You dance well." The man continued, ignoring her silence.

Sarah shook herself out of her thoughts. _Just try to enjoy the here and now_ , she reminded herself. "Uh, no. No, I haven't been to a ball in a very long time. The last one was years ago…"

"Ah, the very same for me. I was surprised that the Goblin King had decided to host one. I just _had_ to come. He always had the _best_ parties." His eyes twinkled in memory, and Sarah didn't want to know where his thoughts were taking him.

"So, do you know why he's suddenly hosting one now? After all these years?"

"No, I don't." He frowned in thought. "I wonder if he's looking for a queen. He's been alone for a long time, I suppose."

"Do you know him personally?"

He shook his head, "No, just passing rumors. But from the way they spread, I feel as if I know almost everyone in this room." His chuckle made Sarah laugh in response.

They twirled and suddenly Sarah was facing another direction. The crowd was spread apart here, and Sarah was taken aback by the appearance of the Goblin King facing away from her. It appeared he was chatting up a woman. A noble woman, one that was very beautiful.

Sarah refrained from digging her nails into the fabric of her poor dance partner. She wasn't sure why this sight of the Goblin King angered her…

"Hmmm, I want an example." Sarah said, masking her curiosity with humor, "Do you know who… _he_ is." She motioned to a random man nearby that was taking his dance moves _way_ too seriously. The worst part was that he was a horrid dancer, and his dance partner seemed to know this by the way her face had formed into a permanent cringe.

" _That_ is Mevan. According to the rumors, he spends his days collecting relics, reminiscing about the old times and complaining about how chivalry is dead."

 _Sounds like a winner_ , Sarah thought. "And what about her?" She motioned to a woman standing behind herself.

"Ah, that is Wennie. She is part troll - part fae, and is very intelligent from what I've heard."

"Hmm," Sarah answered. Now was her chance, she just had to remain nonchalant. "What about…" She pretended to point in a random direction, but it was anything but. " _Her_."

Her dance partner had to awkwardly twist his body while maintaining the dance in order to look behind himself in the direction Sarah was pointing. "The woman talking to his majesty?" He raised an eyebrow knowingly, and Sarah fought to keep her expression innocent. Nonetheless, he began, "Genevieve is known as one of the most beautiful women in fae court that is currently single. I'm surprised you don't know about her."

"Well, as I said, I haven't attended any social events in a while. But her name does sound familiar," Sarah lied. "Have you met her?" She pried.

"Only once, very polite, but they do say she has a spoiled side to her…"

"Hmmm," She simply replied. The music slowly died down around them. It began to fade into another song. Sarah watched as a few dance partners broke apart. Some switching to others, some walking to the edges of the room.

"Will you excuse me?" Sarah asked. It was more of a polite command, really.

He nodded, and they parted ways with cordial smiles.

She walked through the crowd. They parted around her, awed by her commanding presence. Flashes of another time went through her head. A time when she had walked through a crowd very much like this one, expect they had been the confident ones then. She had been the confused girl. Sarah watched as the Goblin King and the beautiful woman parted ways. Genevieve disappearing into the crowd around them.

Then, he turned. He turned and faced Sarah as if he had known she had been there all along. She frowned at how familiar his face was to her. There was something there. His eyes, his grin, the way he held himself. She knew that they had met before… but couldn't remember why he felt so important to her.

Her lips parted as she continued walking towards him. She didn't falter, but felt all at once like the naive innocent princess and the confident powerful heroine. His smirk grows as she falls into a dance with him. He spins her along with the rhythmic music and her eyes catch a glimpse of the clock at the other end of the room.

Images of another dance fall into pieces. A shattered ballroom, a dress not unlike a cherished figurine of hers. She looks back at him.

"You're trying to stall me," she says. Her voice masks the uncertainty that has fogged her mind.

For a brief second, surprise flashes across his face, but he does not miss a step in the dance.

"Am I?" He says.

"I don't know what from…" She frowns, "I came over here because I saw you talking to another woman," Sarah admits plainly. For some reason shame is the last thing on her mind. "But now that I am here I feel that everything's different. Like that wasn't my actual purpose for walking over here."

He seems amused. His handsome eyes smiling at her confusion. She feels his gloved hands gently press her body into a new direction. She spins and ends up closer to him than she was before. Somehow through the layers of her dress she can feel the heat radiating off of his body.

The clock behind her chimes again. This time the sound is disorienting, as if she is walking on two separate plains, her soul is caught between two realms, and she can hear the clock chiming in both. A more distant one is calling to her. She feels a tug in her consciousness and frowns.

Then her eyes widen in realization. "Toby.. I have to-" She cuts herself off. No, that was wrong. She tries again. "Oh, no," her head snaps up to meet his mischievous grin. "The paperwork," she cries.

He does not relinquish his grip on her. Sarah growls at him, "You're trying to keep me from winning. The paperwork," she tries to tug her wrist from him, but not too harshly. "Jareth, let me go."

He shushes her. A hand comes up behind her, pressing on her lower back, and gently pushing their bodies closer. "No, I don't think so. This is a much better game, don't you think?"

"But I'm so close to winning."

Jareth presses a soft kiss on her jaw, then on her neck. His lips are warm against her skin. She's reminded of how easy it is for her to melt into him. The familiar scent of him overwhelms her senses. He captures her lips in a soul searching kiss. Gentle, at first, a brush of the lips. He teases her, then takes her in. They are almost lost to each other.

The sounds of the revelry behind her have been effectively blocked from her mind. Her hands find themselves tangled in his hair. And she's returning the kiss. Then her hands slide out of his locks, gently passing over the skin of his neck and travelling down to his chest.

Sarah just barely pushes him away, breaking the kiss. She can hear her own heart beating loudly and tries to mask the sound of her being out of breath.

"Jareth, love." She says, trying to distance herself from him.

"Yes, _precious_?" He asks sweetly, too sweetly. Sarah recognizes the look of false innocence

"I'm still going to beat you," She says and slips out of his grasp. He lets her go, but she watches as his eyes light up with the challenge.

Before she lets him convince her to grant him more of her precious time, she hurries away from him. Her pale hands reach out in front of her, pushing through the crowd and sometimes harshly shoving the revelers behind her. Effectively obscuring her from the view of her husband. She allows herself to get lost in the crowd, then trains her eyes on the edges of the ballroom.

As she rushes over to the mirrored walls, she reaches for the nearest object. Smiling with nostalgia when realizing that it is, indeed, a chair. Much like her first journey through the labyrinth.

She lifts it up, surprised at how light it is. The room within seconds quiets into a deathlike silence.

Sarah throws the chair at the glass wall.

* * *

Her eyes snap open. She's back in her study. Sarah looks at the clock and sits straight up when she sees that it's four in the morning. She had slept for two hours.

Sarah cursed and snatched at the papers in front of her. Sure, she had plenty of time to finish it before dawn, but Jareth could be done any minute now. She scowled. "Dirty rotten _fairy_. Shouldn't be able to use magic…" And it was true. Due to him being fae he required much less sleep than she did. She'd seen him stay awake for a week straight before. Not only that, but he had many more years of experience in filling out paperwork than she did. Sarah didn't think she'd ever be able to catch up to him, which was why she wanted to win _so_ badly.

With those words still hanging in the air, she busied herself. Anger and thoughts of retribution fueled her onwards. Sarah finished just a few minutes before the sun broke over the horizon, lighting up the walls of the labyrinth and exposing its beauty.

She allows herself to drift off, safe with the knowledge that she was at least able to finish it. As she's dozing off, her head braced on the palms of her hands, she hears the doors to her study open.

Sarah's just drifting off as Jareth enters. Her mind too exhausted to gloat when he admits that she's won.

"I'm really tired," she says to him. Sarah realizes that perhaps she can't pull an all-nighter as easily as she could in college. She didn't remember ever being _this_ exhausted before.

He comes up behind her, his arms slipping around her and lifting her up. Her arms instinctively find themselves around his neck.

"You haven't stated what you've chosen as your prize, yet." He begins to carry her to her chambers.

She smiles lazily. " A day off."

"Granted." He chuckles.

Jareth would never tell her that he had, in fact, completed his pile only _two_ hours after the game had started. He didn't tell her that he had enchanted her with the dream of the ballroom only to convince her that he was stalling her. And her certainly didn't tell her how endearing it was when she would try to challenge him.

If anyone ever asked why he let her win, he'd simply state that he had an advantage… And that wouldn't have been fair.

* * *

 **Like I said, pretty short. ;) I've noticed the ballroom scene is very commonly redone in fanfictions, which might seem repetitive but I completely understand why some people do it. It was probably one of the most important scenes in the movie, if you think about it, because this is when we saw the full extent of Jareth's contradicting feelings for Sarah. It's really one of the most inspirational scenes in the film to write on, I think. That and the ending.**

 **Anyways, t** **hank you for reading my one-shot.** **I wrote it when I was trying to recover from some serious writer's block so... I hoped you enjoyed it, please leave me some feedback! Thank you!**


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